BBQ meal train
Birth of the BBQ Meal Train
The BBQ Meal Train is comprised of award-winning pitmasters, BBQ caterers, backyard enthusiasts and friends on Long Island, NY. There is a long-standing tradition of community involvement for the BBQ community in this area that extends from smoking up some delicious food for 2000 guests at the New York VA to providing hundreds of huge Thanksgiving meals for families dealing with breast cancer.
In response to the heroic efforts of healthcare workers and the circumstances under which they have been asked to perform, Will Breakstone of Willie B’s BBQ Catering began making and delivering food to Southside Hospital in Islip, NY. Hoping to expand his efforts, he began recruiting others from the pool of regulars that assist at the charity events.
Want to Help?
How can you help? If you are in the area and would like to participate, we would love to hear from you. If you are not local or aren’t able to physically participate, paying for ingredients would be a big help.
Contacts: Will Breakstone, rbsnwngs1@yahoo.com
631 678 1726
or Eric Devlin, 631 965 7068, BBQOutreach@gmail.com
please title any donations "BBQ Meal Train"
The BBQ Meal Train Was Born
A Facebook group page was created and was soon populated by people that were looking for some way to give back to those that were working tirelessly and at significant risk to support their community. The general feeling was that if health-care professionals and support staff were willing to go to such great lengths for all of us then the least we could do is make sure they are well fed.
Members of the community would smoke what they happened to have on hand, some chicken here, some ribs there and a pork shoulder when possible. If they weren’t able to smoke it, Will would come pick it up and smoke it himself. People that wanted to participate but weren’t local would donate money to pay for ingredients, paper plates and knives and forks.
Food provided is exactly what you would expect from BBQ folks. The delicious aromas of pulled pork, ribs and chicken welcome doctors, nurses, aids and staff when they enter their breakrooms, but those centerpieces are surrounded by baked beans, potato salads, cakes, pies and other sides or desserts. The BBQ community is the most welcoming and generous imaginable and they are not just willing, but eager to give back.
The scope of the deliveries has increased. The BBQ Meal Train is now doing both lunch and dinners as well as drop-offs with EMT’s. Within the next few weeks there will be a large cook in the parking lot of another Long Island hospital on a custom Shirley Fabrication rig. If there is enough support from the community, food will also be delivered to centers for homeless veterans and other healthcare facilities, such as dialysis centers.
If you'd like to donate to the meal train, use button below and title the transaction 'BBQ Meal Train'